Libya oil ministry dismisses NOC chief 

The Libyan Ministry of Oil and Gas announced, Sunday, its decision to suspend head of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Mustafa Sanallah, and refer him to investigation for committing “violations”, reported Anadolu Agency.

This came in a letter sent by the Minister of Oil and Gas, Mohamed Aoun, to the Petroleum Facilities Guard on Saturday, according to a ministry statement issued Sunday.

On Tuesday, Aoun appointed Jadallah Al-Awkali as head of the NOC instead of Sanallah, due to his absence and taking an outdoor work task without obtaining the minister’s permission, according to the statement.

Aoun said: “We have instructed to suspend him (Sanallah) from work, pending an investigation of the violations that are attributed to him.”

The Libyan minister accused Sanallah of violating his instructions not to engage in any work outside the state institution without obtaining his consent, in addition to preventing Jadallah Al-Awkali from assuming his duties as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NOC under the mandate issued by the minister, according to the statement.

Aoun confirmed that “Jadallah Ahmed Al-Awkali will continue to serve as the designated Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Oil Corporation.”

The oil sector in Libya has been recovering in recent months, with local production reaching 1.3 million barrels per day.

On 19 August, the Libyan NOC announced that the country’s oil revenues reached a record level of more than $2 billion last July, for the second month in a row.